Dark Daughter
by Lord Takaraan
Summary: Darth Vader finds his Daughter, Princess Leia Organa, when she is 10 years old. Lies are unravelled and new purpose is found. The future of the galaxy is forever changed. This is a Vader/Dark!Leia story, familiar faces and some OC's will appear. Rated T for future events. Inspired by Cka3ka's Heart of Darkness
1. Prologue Ch1: Insubordination

_Summary: Darth Vader finds his Daughter, Princess Leia Organa, when she is 10 years old. Lies are unravelled and new purpose is found. The future of the galaxy is forever changed. This is a Vader/Dark!Leia story, familiar faces and some OC's will appear. Rated T for future events._

 _Author's note: This is my first written fanfiction so reviews are more than welcome. I love the idea of a dark, Sith Leia, and it is a shame there are not enough stories depicting that. I've had the idea to write one for a while and I've finally decided to do it. This is inspired by Cka3ka's unfinished but amazing "Heart of Darkness". I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I do writing it._

* * *

Dark Daughter

Prologue

Chapter 1 Insubordination

The sound of heavy boots echoed down the empty corridor. It was an elaborate corridor, one of hundreds in the palace, crafted by the best architects and stone masons the galaxy had to offer. The intended purpose to tell any person that traversed the halls that whoever lived here was utmost royalty, the pinnacle of opulence and luxury. For those unfortunate enough to be force sensitive, the dark presence that hung in the air and stuck to you like the mist in the swamps of Dagobah made the palace feel foreboding. The closer one got to the throne room, the more it felt as if the very air was getting heavier and heavier. The dark figure striding down the corridor was more than used to this presence and simply ignored it. He was more than used to the dark presence, all it made him feel was annoyed and inconvenienced.

With confidence and authority the dark figure approached two red robed guards standing alert to the doors of the throne room. They were expecting him to be here, their master usually made the dark figure wait outside but today was different. Today their master was in a foul mood and did not want to play the usual mind games, so simply opened the doors and allowed the dark figure passage.

When one thought of an emperor, they thought of him as dressed in extravagant clothing with his face proudly on display. The figure on the throne looked more like a crazy old monk from some cult on a backwater planet, though if anyone thought that - let alone speak it aloud - they would wish they had never been born.

The dark figure kneeled at the dais erecting a powerful mental shield to keep anyone curious enough to probe his mind, specifically the Emperor, firmly out of it. Having his mind probed by the Emperor made him feel violated.

"What is thy bidding my master" spoke the dark figure in a tone of submittance and servitude. Every time he spoke those words a part of him cruelly mocked himself for being a virtual slave to this man. That train of thought was rudely interrupted…

"Lord Vader" spat the Emperor. Darth Vader knew now that his master was in a foul mood. "Moff Haskar was rather useful at finding the rebel scum that plague my empire and yet I have recently heard that he has become another casualty of your fits of rage, care to explain?!" asked the Emperor.

Oh it was about that fool Haskar, that intolerable man was obnoxious, but it was true he was useful at rooting out the rebels. His true crime was to make the mistake of overriding every one of Vader's orders and on several occasions the rebels had eluded them because of his actions. Such incompetence could not be tolerated, surely his Master would see this.

"Master, Moff Haskar was an incompetent fool who was incapable of carrying out his ta-"

The Emperor cut off Vader before he could finish "I personally assigned Moff Haskar because I deemed him more competent than you at finding these rebels!" the man boomed, fury clearly emanating in his voice. "You have forgotten your place my apprentice, do you think yourself more qualified than me to judge the competence of the men I personally choose?"

"Master, he was wasting resources and manpow-"

"I do not care for your pathetic excuses" the Emperor shouted, cutting off Vader with Sith Lightning. Vader simply remained kneeling baring the brunt of the barrage. "I explicitly said he was to be given access to all resources at your disposal and that he was very useful to me, yet you decide you know better than me"

The Emperor ceased his barrage to allow Vader to respond.

"I apologise my Master, this will not happen again" grovelled Vader, trying to maintain his position under the intense pain he was feeling.

"It won't happen again because he's dead. You will now take Moff Haskar's place. Before his untimely demise, his investigations pointed to Alderaan and its Viceroy, Bail Organa. You will go there and root out the rebels" he commanded.

"As you wish, my Master" he replied almost robotically.

Vader hated Alderaan with a passion, he had avoided going to the planet as much as possible. It reminded him too much of Naboo, a planet he hadn't been to in 10 years. Vader suspected the Emperor knew this and was punishing him, although finally pinning down Bail Organa as a rebel sympathiser would make the punishment more bearable.

"You will leave immediately, and send in Mara on your way out" the Emperor said, slowly slipping back into his throne.

Vader rose and turned to leave, his cape billowing as he walked. He carried on walking even when the Emperor began to lecture him.

"Remember my apprentice, Moff Haskar was useful to me but not irreplaceable. You are useful to me as well, but even you are not irreplaceable" cackled the Emperor, drinking the anger emanating from Vader.

How dare the Emperor consider the second-in-command of the Empire replaceable. Would he replace him with that leech, Tarkin? In his anger he almost steam rolled Mara with his boots as he left the throne room, only a quick sidestep prevented her from becoming one with the floor.

"Hey, watch your going Vader!" she shouted. If it were anyone else, their neck would be snapped in seven places. But alas, she was the Emperor's toy. He didn't even bother looking back at the girl as he told her to go in. Perhaps that was his supposed replacement; yes perhaps.

She was only eight years old and lacked the force potential he did, but she was already brainwashed to follow the Emperor zealously. The Emperor craved power over others, and although Vader was a virtual slave he did have his own thoughts and agendas. If the Emperor personally trained Mara, she would be at his every beck and call. A life of servitude with complete devotion, a mere pawn for the Emperor to use. He almost pitied her ignorance, he knew exactly what he was. One day though, he would become powerful enough in the force to break free of his chains; but that day was long off.

He would brood over this en route to Alderaan, and with that thought he comm'd the captain of his flagship, the _Exactor_ , for it to be ready to depart when he boarded.


	2. Prologue Ch2: Unexpected Arrival

Chapter 2 Unexpected arrival

Bail Organa was usually a calm, patient man - one had to be when you are a Senator and Viceroy of a planet. His current state of nervous pacing was very unusual for the palace staff, there wasn't many things that could make the Viceroy nervous. If it made Bail nervous, then it had to be bad - whatever it was. Unfortunately it was worse than bad and they knew it.

"Your Highness, his shuttle will be arriving soon"

Soon was too soon for Bail, he hated being surprised and this was one of the worst surprises that could befall him today. When the _Exactor_ dropped out of Hyperspace not even 15 standard minutes ago, he and much of Alderaan's peaceful populace were sent into an immediate panic. When Vader's flagship popped up over one's planet unexpected, it tended to do that. Especially to planets who harboured rebel sympathy.

Plastering on his Senatorial face he calmly approached the descending _Lambda_ class shuttle, hopefully not to an untimely demise. It wouldn't do to get himself killed and leave his adopted daughter to an uncertain fate. The sea of white clad Stormtroopers followed by Darth Vader descending from the shuttle did nothing to ease his mind.

"Lord Vader, this is unexpected. For what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?" Bail calmly asked.

"You can cease with the pleasantries, Organa. The Emperor is displeased with the growing Rebel presence on Alderaan" Vader said bluntly.

"My Lord, my men are doing everything they can but the Rebels are like shadows in the night, blending in with everyone else"

"Your men are not doing enough then!".

It was more likely they were doing the opposite of removing the rebels Vader thought. "I am bringing my own intelligence operatives in who will be doing what your men have failed do to"

"But my Lo-"

"I did not come to listen to your excuses, Organa. You will fully co-operate with the investigation, is that understood?" Vader said as a statement, not a question.

"Yes, my Lord, completely" Bail said in resignation. He would have to be careful, Vader's reputation as brutal and efficient was not unfounded. Most of the Rebel cells in Alderaan had more than likely gone to the wilds as soon as the Exactor entered orbit, it would have been suicide to stay around.

* * *

Vader was frustrated, he hated how the Viceroy was right about the Rebels being like shadows. Several days had passed with little success, the intelligence they had come with proved to be useless as Moff Haskar. There were hints and traces of the Rebel presence, but they had vanished into thin air. What few leads they had, turned into dead ends. There was nothing more Vader could do but wait for his operatives to turn up more information. He wasn't a very patient man to begin with, but his patience was being worn dangerously thin. He thought perhaps it was time to have a 'chat' with Organa to see if he could get anything out of him.

Tossing the datapad to his desk in the makeshift office he had been given, he moved to find the Viceroy. Since his arrival, Bail had made himself as scarce as he could be to avoid any confrontation. Taking this as a small challenge to test himself, he stretched out in the force probing for him. The gardens. Yes, that's where he was. Although... He felt a slight disturbance. A muted speck of light in the force - it was small, but clear enough to Vader that there must be a force sensitive near the Palace. Focusing in on it, but not so much as to alert whatever it was he noticed something peculiar. It was moving, very fast. He quickened his stride.

The Dark Lord of the Sith looked out of place among the vibrant colours of the gardens, but that wasn't what interested him at the moment. It was the familiar whine of a swoop bike engine that piqued his curiosity. Moving up to what he assumed was some sort of stargazing balcony he located the source of the sound, and the disturbance. Sailing by at high speed, a swoop bike was being chased by 3 speeder bikes adorned with the crest of the Alderaanian royal family. It was rather odd that the speeders weren't simply firing at the swoop bike to bring it down. Whoever was being chased must be of some importance because the speeders hadn't fired a single shot. He knew if it were an intruder they wouldn't be getting so close to the palace with him here.

His musings were cut short when they disappeared into a tree line.

He was impressed by what he saw, the swoop biker didn't look very big - more like a child. But a child couldn't possibly hold the talent to ride with such grace and skill? A memory of him in a pod racer crossing the line in the Boonta Eve classic came unbidden. Quickly clamping down on it, he moved towards the disturbance he felt earlier. After what he witnessed, his chat with Organa can wait, this was going to be more interesting he thought.

* * *

Entering the hangar, he overheard a man chastising what he assumed was the swoop biker. Getting closer, amusement slowly creeped into his mind by what he saw. The biker turned out to be a small girl dressed in ill-fitting blue overalls covered with oil and grime. Clearly this one wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty.

Obviously startled by his presence one of the men jumped into attention "My...Lord Vader, why...why are you here?" he stammered.

"I wish to speak with the girl" Vader commanded.

The man, a guard Vader assumed, was starting to lose his composure under the intense scrutiny of the Dark Lord. "B...but my Lord-"

"She is Bail Organa's Daughter" another guard piped up before his colleague got himself killed.

"Indeed she is" Vader replied coolly. "I wish to speak with her, you are dismissed"

The guards frantically exchanged glances with each other before looking back to Vader. Feeling the fear rolling off of them he decided to placate them before they did something rash.

"She is in no danger I assure you. Leave us" he said, lacing it with a force suggestion.

The guards quickly bowed and left the Princess on her own. She stood straight and regal as she could for her age, hiding the fear that she was in the presence of the second-in-command of the Empire.

"What do you want, Lord Vader?" she asked, with a slight tremble in her voice.

Obviously Bail had told her stories of him or she wouldn't be so fearful of him. Under normal circumstances he would be bathing in the fear coming from her, but now he felt it disturbing him.

"You have nothing to fear child, I am impressed by your piloting skills. Who taught you?" Vader asked as softly as his vocabulator would allow. It must have worked because she appeared less fearful and her pose slacked ever so slightly.

"One of Papa's friends showed me when I asked about them, I've been teaching myself since. He only taught me the basics" she said, quite proud of herself.

Vader changed his vision from Leia to the bike taking in the details he had missed before. It was a custom bike that was for sure, there were several different modifications to the bike that gave that away. The basic model looked like a Mobquet Flare-S, but it was definitely custom. Whoever built it was clearly skilled.

"Who maintains this bike?" he asked curiously, whoever it was might just find themselves with a better job than working for Bail Organa. That thought was quickly dismissed however.

"I maintain my bike!" she exclaimed, offended by the question. Just because she wasn't an adult didn't mean she wasn't as good as them.

"Impressive" was all he said. She wasn't an ordinary princess, not by a long shot. Princesses were supposed to be prim and proper learning the fine art of diplomacy and courtship. But here was a Princess who preferred riding and maintaining swoop bikes. She reminded him of his youth on Tatooine where he spent hours meticulously building his custom Pod Racer.

"Is it not very un-princess like to be working on swoop bikes?" he asked slightly patronisingly, interested in her response.

Her face blew up red at the question, childish anger emanating through the force. Her Governess patronised her constantly about how it was unladylike to 'fool around with machines', nobody seemed to understand her when it came down to it which frustrated her.

"You sound just like everyone else! All children have hobbies; building and maintaining swoop bikes is one of mine" she pouted, crossing her arms and glaring at the towering figure in front of her, forgetting what she had heard of him for a moment. She pulled a face when she heard a weird sound emanating from him until she realised it was his form of a chuckle; she had actually made Vader chuckle, if it could be described as such. Composing himself, he kneeled down and started to take apart the panels to see for himself how good her mechanical skills were.

"Hey stop that, you don't know what you're doing! You'll break something then I'll have to fix it!" she protested.

Another funny sound came from Vader, he was laughing again - that was the second time she made him laugh. She was starting to doubt her father's stories that he was some unfeeling monster - he really didn't seem all that scary.

"I have been building and maintaining all manner of vehicles far longer than you have been alive, young one" he said amusedly. Satisfied that he wouldn't break anything, she stepped back letting him get a good look. He had thought the bike was custom made, he didn't realise that it included the entirety of the inner workings. He had thought the basic model of the bike was a Flare-S; the frame almost surely was a Flare-S, but there were none of the typical Mobquet parts in it.

"Where did you get the engine for this bike?" he questioned, he hadn't seen it before which interested him greatly.

"Well... I had to build the engine myself because Papa wouldn't buy me one. I just took the parts from the other bikes in the palace and from what I can get in the market and built it" she said.

"Very impressive" he said genuinely. Very few sentients were able to build an engine good enough to power a swoop bike at such a young age. Even fewer humans were able to do it.

"It's still a work in progress though. I can't get the cooling working on it properly. If I go too fast, it starts to overheat and stalls the engine; that's how they were able to catch me before" she said with a frown. Vader saw the problem with her current cooling - the radiators weren't in good positions to really vent out the heat from the main block. No wonder it was stalling when she tried to get as much power as possible out of it. It would need disassembling and fixing in heatsinks, but it was doable. He missed being able to tinker with machines and this was the perfect opportunity since he had nothing better to do.

"I see your problem little one, pass me the hydrospanner" he finally said. Leia was surprised to say the least and stood there gaping at the dark lord before coming to her senses and grabbing her toolbox.

* * *

Bail was a nervous wreck. First Darth Vader came to the planet to root out rebels, next he's 'talking' with his adopted daughter. He knew that Vader's efforts had been in vain to locate the rebel cells, most of them had disappeared without a trace thanks to Bail's quick thinking. He also knew this was going to make the Dark Lord impatient and frustrated, but he didn't think he would stoop as low as to use Leia against him. He would have sent Leia with his sister to the holiday retreat but, using security as an excuse, no one but imperial staff were to leave the Royal Estate.

He had hoped to keep the interaction between Vader and Leia to almost nothing, but something had interested him enough to dismiss the guards that were supposed to stay with her at all times. What if Vader found out that Leia was really his daughter? That thought stopped Bail's nervous pacing. If her true father realised it, then Bail would have failed Padmé and quite possibly lose his life in the process. With that thought he quickly made his way to the Hangar.

* * *

Bail wasn't too sure what to expect when he got to his destination, but this wasn't something he had envisioned. He had to take a double take to make sure he wasn't hallucinating it. Hunched over a swoop bike, his adopted daughter and Darth Vader were working on her bike. It was a rather peculiar sight; the towering black figure of Vader next to an oil stained princess.

"That's the last radiator installed, all we need to do now is put the engine back in" he heard Vader say. The scene looked almost as if a father was interacting with his daughter... A large spike of utter dread and fear surprised Vader, quickly turning around to locate it he spotted the Viceroy looking like he had seen a ghost. Leia, realising something had startled the Dark Lord, saw her adopted father pale as the marble of the palace floors.

"Papa!" she exclaimed, running over to him. "Lord Vader has been helping me with my swoop bike" she informed him.

"He has?" he choked out "that- that is wonderful to hear" the surprise in his voice showing clearly.

"Indeed I have, she has quite the talent for mechanics which is very unusual for a Princess" Vader remarked.

"She is full of surprises, but I am afraid for now it is time for dinner. Come Leia, you can attend to your bike later" Bail beckoned, taking hold of her hand to make sure she came with him.

"But we were just about to put the engine back in!" she protested to no avail.

"Leia you have spent enough time tinkering with that bike for now" he exasperated.

"Fine! Will you help me later, Lord Vader?" she turned and asked him.

"If I have the time, then perhaps Princess" he responded. Satisfied she was coming with him, Bail took her away from the hangar. Throughout this encounter Vader was puzzled and left with some very different questions to ask the Viceroy. It was obvious Bail didn't want him speaking with the Princess and had he not been curious about the Viceroy's initial spike of fear he would have dismissed it as a father being protective of his daughter.

He knew Bail feared him, as he should do, but that is not what he felt. He didn't even feel fear for his daughter being harmed, he had felt it many times from parents before. But this time it was different. He couldn't quite place it, but a subtle nudge from the force told him it was worth investigating.


	3. Prologue ch3: Revelations

Chapter 3 Revelations

Lieutenant Jellor found himself with a most peculiar request from his commanding officer a week ago. What was a peculiar request, turned into one of the more interesting missions he had undertaken. It was a break from his usual duty of supervising the mechanics onboard the _Exactor_ and took him to the swoop race circuits of Kuat. He had known of Vader's penchant for mechanics and knew he personally attended to his custom TIE fighter, but it was still strange for Vader to want swoop bike parts. He very rarely rode swoop's in any situation, preferring speeders or just walking; but nonetheless Vader had asked him to get some of the best engine and coolant parts and there was no better place than the swoop race circuits of Kuat.

Jellor shook himself from his reverie when he was alerted to the reversion from Hyperspace to Real-space. With the _Exactor_ looming aboard Alderaan in its third week of searching for rebels, Jellor was feeling satisfied that he had accomplished his mission very well indeed.

" _Exactor_ to Shuttle _Stargazer_ , Lord Vader has requested that upon your return you should land at the Alderaan Royal Palace"

" _Stargazer_ to _Exactor_ , acknowledged. Proceeding to Alderaan Royal Palace" Jellor replied. That was unusual. Was Vader so impatient he wanted to see the parts immediately? Or did he plan on doing some swoop bike racing on Alderaan? The image of Vader on a swoop bike choking his opponents sprang to mind.

Vader was waiting for him on the platform, pushing the acquired merchandise he descended the ramp and promptly stood to attention.

"My Lord, I have done as you have asked and brought back the best parts I could find. I took the liberty of bringing back a selection in the event of compatibility issues" Jellor reported.

"That is also taking liberty with my personal account of credits, Lieutenant" Vader crisply responded. "However your foresight is appreciated. Return to the ship Lieutenant, your efforts have been noted"

Jellor promptly saluted and prepared to take off back to the _Exactor_. Vader was mildly surprised, most imperial officers lacked the function of foresight. Competent officers were hard to find unlike in the days of the Clone Wars. At times like these he sorely missed the clone troopers of the 501st, the recruited men that formed the stormtrooper corps will never match the ability and skill of clones. The recruited officers were no better either.

"Take the parts to the hangar" commanded Vader to two stormtroopers he brought with him. Outwardly, Vader using the time of his officers to acquire swoop bike parts for a Princess would look something uncharacteristic of him. However he did have an ulterior motive, he wanted to prompt a reaction from the Viceroy. The fear he felt was unusual, and with the force nudging him to seek out answers he simply couldn't ignore it. He was hoping the answers would lead to Bail's death. Perhaps his adopted daughter is the daughter of a Jedi, little did he know which Jedi.

Finding the Princess was made easy by her muted force presence, although he didn't really need the force to find her. Walking up to her bedroom door and feeling slightly foolish for knocking and waiting for a response. The door opened and for a moment Vader's respirator stopped.

"Lord Vader, the Princess is currently in the fresher but she will be out in a moment to attend to you" said a prissy golden protocol droid. Vader could only stand dumbfounded gazing upon the droid he built with his own hands.

"Lord Vader, are you alright? You may wait inside"

"What is your designation" queried Vader, he was sure but he had to know for certain if this was indeed C-3PO.

"I am See-Threepio, human cyborg relations. I am fluent in over six million forms of communication" C-3PO responded, confirming Vader's suspicions. He stood like a stone, he had never given a second thought to the fate of his creation after Mustafar. Nor his faithful companion, R2-D2. And as if the force itself was pulling a cruel joke, the familiar sounds of binary beeping emanated from some place else in her room.

"Artoo-Detoo, how can you be so rude. Do you have no manners?" cried C-3PO. Vader, slowly pulling himself back into the real world, tuned into what the droids were arguing about. His binary was rusty, having not needed to listen to astromechs, but it was good enough to make out what his longtime companion was warbling on about.

 _Beep-boop-beep_

"Come now Artoo, how do you know he is dangerous? You spend too much time listening to that holonet rubbish, I'm surprised Master Organa hasn't had you disassembled"

 _Beep-beep-boop_

"Artoo don't spout such drivel, he is no threat to Mistress Leia"

"Who is no threat to me, threepio?" said Leia curiously. Bail wouldn't let anyone who was a threat get close enough to physically be at her bedroom. As if to answer her question, the imposing presence of Darth Vader strode in. Suddenly R2-D2 drove into the Vader's shins guards and presented him with his electroshock-prod.

"Artoo-Detoo what do you think you are doing?! I will have no part in you threatening Lord Vader" said C-3PO as he briskly walked off into an adjoining room ranting on about disassembly.

"Artoo, why are you being so protective? I have been talking to Lord Vader for the past two weeks, he isn't a danger to me" said Leia, trying to placate Artoo. All the while, Vader could only stand and look down upon his old companion. The droid must never have been mind wiped and never forgiven him for what he did to Padme. Surprising Leia, Vader crouched down to the same level as Artoo and bowed his head down to the droid. Artoo's response was to retract the prod and give a sad whistle as if knowing what Vader was feeling.

"I know Artoo, I miss her too" replied Vader, so soft she barely heard him.

"You know Artoo-Detoo?" asked a dumbstruck Leia, why would Vader possibly know who her father's astromech was? Artoo gave a warble and a small string of beeps.

"It has been a long time indeed Artoo...Artoo-Detoo was my faithful companion during the Clone Wars - he saved my life on a few occasions. I also knew See-Threepio too, I built him from scrap when I was a young boy." answered Vader.

"Really? But if they are your droids, why does Papa own them now?" asked an even more curious Leia.

"A good question indeed Princess, Artoo?"

The only response by Artoo-Detoo was to give a string of beeps.

"What do you mean you cannot tell me? Who are you protecting?" demanded Vader. The astromech head swivelled round to face a new gawping Leia Organa. Looking at him like...like _she_ did. The force cried out as if this was something _right_ , like two lost souls finding each other at last. Leia, she had _her_ eyes... _her_ posture...even _her_ droids...and her force signature, he could feel parts of himself and parts of _her_. Only now did he see it as the force sung its melancholy tune.

A dawning realisation came on Vader, and with it came a storm so fierce and furious Leia felt like the air had been taken out the room, replaced with the cold of space. Now he was going to have a _talk_ with Bail Organa. Anger flowed through him at the final betrayal of his old master and the lie of his current. Storming out the room with a purpose he left people gawping in his wake, something had really riled the Dark Lord and they wanted to be nowhere near it.

He had been told and believed that Padmé and his child had died by his hand, but now was living proof that he hadn't killed his child and perhaps he hadn't even killed his angel. Sidious had taunted him for years about how he killed his wife and child, but now he could prove him wrong.

 _Wait!_ Shouted a part of his mind, _you can't take her back to the Emperor, think of Mara_. He stopped mid step, but no one paid him attention. If he brought his daughter back to the Emperor, then he would train her like Mara. Make him his new puppet, or worse still he might replace him with his own daughter. Knowing Sidious, he would probably make his own daughter kill him to take his place.

No, that was unacceptable. He would have to think about what to do. He would not let Sidious discover her, but he didn't want Bail to keep her. She was rightfully his, and nothing would stand in his way. The years as a Dark Lord of the Sith had at least finally matured him out of doing rash things that he used to do, this was a situation that required thought.

* * *

On a distant green planet, a creature felt change in the galaxy at large. Something that should have been lost, had been found before its time. This disturbance cast its ripples across the galaxy, things had been set in motion that not even the wizened Jedi Master could have foreseen.


	4. Prologue Ch4: I am Leia Skywalker

_Author's_ _note: Fixed some grammar errors in the earlier chapters._

DawnDayrider - It's early in the story yet, and I don't want to be held to anything I say, so I'm not sure if Luke will crop up. I really want to focus on Leia, I feel if I bring Luke into the story it will draw too much of the story away from her and I don't want that. It depends where the story goes really.

Rookworm - It's a travesty HoD is unfinished, I do wish it could be finished. With that said, this will be a different story. Even when spitballing, it's hard to get an idea where Vader and Leia will interact to the point where he finds its his daughter. Some things I've seen feel too artificial or implausible. I'm still not sure how to bring Jix in without it feeling copied, at the same time I don't want to use some OC without having a proper backstory that is fleshed out, which is a story in of itself.

Chapter 4: I am Leia Skywalker

Leia was confused, why were the second-in-command of the Empire's droids in her father's possession? She felt this was a secret she was not supposed to know; if she spoke to her father about it he might stop her from talking to Vader or worse take her droids. This was something she would have to ask Vader when he returned back to the Palace.

* * *

After meditating on the same question, Vader had only just come to the most logical answer himself. At first he greatly hoped that if the droids were with Bail, Padmé might be on Alderaan too; but he dismissed the idea as wild fantasy. She was dead, he was sure of it. Just as his dreams prophesied, she had died in childbirth. What he hadn't seen was her giving birth first. Bail had been a close friend to her and must have been present when this occurred, which greatly angered Vader. Bail must have colluded with his former friend and master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, in an effort to conceal Leia from her rightful father.

The deception, now thwarted, left a difficult situation to Vader. How to extricate his daughter from the hands of the Alderaan Royal family without alerting the Emperor to her existence or arousing the suspicion of Bail Organa. If the Emperor knew she was a Skywalker, he would have to bring her before him or be labeled a traitor. Either way, she would be made Sidious's new apprentice and he would be replaced. If Bail suspected Vader of knowing Leia was a Skywalker and planning on claiming her as his own, she would be squirreled away to some place firmly out of his reach. He would then need to inform the Emperor to get any sort of assistance which wouldn't do either.

Just thinking of the Emperor now only infuriated him. He had lied about his wife's demise and for 10 years he had lived with the pain of the death of his angel and his child by his own hand. To find that his child was alive and well proved the Emperor was wrong and Vader had been lied to all this time. His will set in stone, Leia would be beside him when they destroyed Sidious and forge a better Empire.

The first step to vengeance would be to get Leia off the planet where he would begin her training. Thinking back to earlier, he had left his daughter very curious about the droids and their origins. It was a gamble, but perhaps her knowing the truth would prove fruitful in bringing her beside him. In any event, he would need to answer her questions before she asked Bail himself.

* * *

In the hangar of the Palace, a surprised princess had forgotten about the incident with Vader when she found crate loads of swoop bike parts. She hadn't asked for any new parts, and they didn't seem to be cast offs from the older models some of the palace staff had. They were top of the line, ones she had only seen on the holonet. Her father would never buy her anything that would make her bike better than the palace speeders. There could only have been one person responsible.

It came as no surprise then when Vader walked in several hours later to find Leia absorbed in completely rebuilding her bike. So much so that she only acknowledged his presence when he dismissed the guards and the distinctive sound of his respirator replaced the chatting of the guards.

"I see you are enjoying my gift little one" he greeted.

"This is from you? This is one of the best gifts I've ever had!" she exclaimed, her face filling with childish glee. The gratefulness and adoration pouring out of her took Vader aback. It had been a long time since he had felt such feelings directed toward him.

"Indeed it is, I thought you might enjoy it" he said genuinely. "I also have another gift for you Princess, something that should belong to you" he said mysteriously as he pulled a small black pouch from a compartment on his belt. "This belonged to your Mother - your true mother. She would want you to have it".

Tenderly taking the pouch in her hand and opening it, she took out a carved wooden necklace. Her curiosity exploded; why did Vader have something that belonged to her mother? How did he know her? What was it? Why would she give it to him? She looked up at him, her mouth opening and closing as her mind raced through the questions.

"It is carved from a Japor Snippet, it brings good fortune to the wearer. A slave boy from Tatooine gave it to her when she was fourteen years old" he said somberly. "When they married ten years later, she wore it every day". It was a cruel irony then that when he ventured into Padmé's apartment on Coruscant after her death that he found the Japor Snippet laid on her desk. He had kept it ever since, his only reminder of her. Perhaps there was some truth to the good fortune it brought; he had found his lost daughter.

"What happened to her?" asked Leia, shaking Vader from his thoughts.

Vader looked away from her, memories pouring forth. When he spoke, it was distant, as if in another world. "Towards the end of the clone wars she was pregnant, but your father had prophetic dreams of her dying in childbirth. He turned to the man most like a grandfather to him and he said he would teach him how to save your mother"

"Did he save her?"

"No. She died, and with her death he had thought you lost as well. You were adopted by the Organas and your parents droids were given to them"

"But I thought Artoo and Threepio were your droids?"

"Indeed they are"

"But if they are both my parents and your droids then that means that you... you..." her voice trailing off, she could only gawp at Vader as realisation struck her.

"I am your father, Leia" he proclaimed.

"You really are my father?" She asked, the truth so unbelievable. She had always wanted to know more about her real parents, but not in her wildest dreams did she think she would meet any of them, let alone be it the man before her.

"Indeed I am, my daughter, you can feel the truth just as I can" he said tenderly.

She was dumbstruck, she couldn't think of anything to say. She couldn't explain it, but she just knew he was talking the truth. She could feel the love for her rolling off of him as if it was something she could touch. It greatly surprised Vader when she hugged him; he surprised himself when he returned it. Growing aware that if anyone were to walk in everything would be ruined he disentangled himself from her.

"Leia, my daughter, it is of great importance you keep this a secret. Bail, your foster-father, more than likely already knows about our relation but he does not believe you or I know"

"Why would he keep it a secret from me? Why would he keep it a secret from you? If he knew, shouldn't I have been with you from the beginning?" she asked, her trust in her foster-father shattered.

"It is more complicated than I have told. I cannot openly claim you as my daughter, the Emperor would not approve. He is an evil man, he would take you away and train you, or worse have you killed. Like me, you are powerful in the force if not more so. You are a great threat to him" he warned.

"Why would he do that though? I'm just a kid how am I a threat?" she choked out.

"If you were trained in the ways of the force, you would be powerful enough to defeat him. If he trained you, however, he would turn you against me and in the end you would take my place as his apprentice" he stated as matter of fact. "He is an evil man who only cares about his own power. I trusted him to bring peace and order to the galaxy, but he has only the intention of enslaving the galaxy for his own whims"

"Why don't you stop him then?"

"I am not as powerful as I once was, I cannot defeat him alone"

"You said I could be powerful enough to stop him? You could train me, then we could stop the Emperor and free the galaxy!"

"It is not so simple, Leia. You would have to leave everything behind, not even Bail can know. It would be a hard life, it would be dangerous"

"I want to be with you Father, even if it is hard. Papa said that people are afraid to do what is right because it's hard, that we need to be brave and strong to make the right choices even if it's hard. If everyone lives in fear of doing the right things because it's difficult, nothing will ever change for the better". Her words reminded Vader so much of the impassioned speeches of his wife in the halls of the old Senate.

"Padmé would be proud of you; I am proud of you. You truly are our daughter. If you wish to come with me, then you must leave in secret. I must go and speak with someone who could be of assistance in this matter"

"I understand Father. I wish you could stay, I want to hear more about Mother"

"When we are reunited at last, I will tell you everything, I promise"

As Vader made the motion to leave the hangar, Leia spoke. "There's one thing I want to know now though, what is your real name? There is no mention of you before the beginning of the Empire"

His daughter had done her research. There was much speculation about his origins on the holonet, no doubt she had seen it. "Very few know that Darth Vader was not once my name. I used to be known as Anakin Skywalker but it means nothing to me now" he said coldly.

"I am Leia Skywalker then, that is my true name" she declared.

"As you wish it, Leia. I must go now, Daughter. You must not tell anyone what has been said here, there are some here who might use you to hurt me" he cautioned.

"I understand Father. I'm glad we met" she said cheerily, something felt right about having him as her father. As if a hole in her very being had gone, replaced by warmth and love.

"As am I, Daughter. It will not be long before you are beside me truly"

* * *

Back on the _Exactor_ , Vader was pleased with how things went. He had brought his daughter to his side and she was willing to come with him, which made things easier in getting her off Alderaan. It was only a matter of arranging some discrete transport off world which he needed assistance with. He could be nowhere near Alderaan when she disappeared otherwise it would be suspicious, it left him with needing outside help. There were few people he could trust with a mission as delicate as this. His mind made up he secured the comms and made a call.

"I have a mission for you, the most important mission you will ever undertake"

* * *

 **Author's note:** Ah a cliffhanger, how cliché. I wanted to throw my thought to anyone who might disagree on how Leia reacted. She is a kid who has never known her true parents, her foster-mother died at a young age (which is the only explanation how she can remember her 'mother') and is intrigued by Vader. Kids grow up a lot faster in Star Wars than in real life and can make decisions that are difficult. Of course she wants to go with him to learn about her mother and father and in the process she can be a 'hero' to the galaxy, or so she believes.

I hope you enjoy and stick with the story. I appreciate reviews a lot and will answer any questions you have.


	5. Prologue Ch5: CT-7567

_Author's note:_

Simgr101 - I'm afraid to say I don't subscribe to that theory. I believe that the Anakin/Padmé romance was real and that the love was there. From the clone wars it's better shown, but it can be seen he was possessive and jealous of other men close to Padmé. She more than likely died at the end due to stress of her heart being broken; giving birth to twins; being choked by Vader. It wouldn't make sense if she was 'forcibly' with Anakin, even at the end she says there is still good in him.

Rookworm - I think Lucas made a hiccup with the continuity of Star Wars and put himself in a corner with regards to Leia remembering Padmé. I think the idea that Breha died when she was young fits a lot better, and makes sense with continuity. I don't think it's a story issue as more of Lucas messing with continuity.

Chapter 5 CT-7567

 _"..the most important mission you will ever undertake..."_

Vader had explicitly contacted him on this so-called 'important mission'. He was sure he had done more important missions in the days of the Clone Wars, but for some reason Vader had said it was the most important mission he would do. When clones thought of their important missions, most would say it was Order 66. If you asked a clone who served in the 501st legion, all of them would say Operation: Knightfall; that is unless you asked CT-7567 who had been conspicuously absent. He had listened to the warning of his fallen brother, CT-5555, and removed his inhibitor chip allowing him to refuse the order.

CT-7567 would rather face his own death than execute his Jedi General, Anakin Skywalker. It seems in the end it hadn't mattered and he was sad to hear his death confirmed shortly after the Jedi Purge. It would have taken the whole of the 501st to take him down; since the 501st still existed it must have been none other than Darth Vader himself, who had mysteriously appeared overnight at the birth of the Empire.

Which brought him back to why he was now in orbit of Alderaan in the _Twilight II_ , a ship given to him for the mission by Darth Vader. He was mulling over the words of the message Vader had left on the ship for him.

 _"Captain, I am glad the ship has found you safely. Had it been anyone else who walked on the ship, it would have self-destructed. The mission you are about to undertake is highly sensitive and there is no room for failure. You will go to the planet of Alderaan and land to the specified coordinates already in the ship's databank. You will wait outside for a guest to come to the ship, you will know who it is when they announce their name. Once boarded you will return to my personal palace on Coruscant. Secrecy is vital to your mission. Discovery of any kind, including by Imperial forces, is unacceptable. To that end the ship is fitted with the best cloaking technology currently available. Do not fail me."_

Who could be so important to Vader that not even the Empire could know about the mission? Why did Vader trust him so much with this mission? It screamed of some kind of sinister conspiracy against the Emperor; it would be easy to report Vader's plot and wash his hands of the whole affair but Vader would know this. That line of thinking was gnawing at him through the journey to Alderaan but he came to the decision to see out Vader's 'important' mission if just to satisfy his curiosity.

Having already engaged the cloaking system, he began his descent.

* * *

 _One week earlier..._

"Lord Vader, what can I do for you?" said a startled Bail Organa. Vader had barged into his office without the royal guards alerting him first, again.

"I am leaving Alderaan, my attention is needed elsewhere in the Empire" he replied getting straight to the point.

"That is unfortunate, does that mean that the investigation has been completed then?" he asked a little too hopefully.

"No it does not, an ISB agent will be taking over the investigation in my place. He will be arriving shortly" he responded, crushing the Viceroy's hope.

Saying all he had to, he simply left. He needed to be far away when his daughter 'disappeared' to avoid suspicion.

* * *

 _The present..._

Leia did the final checks on her bike, it was now or never. Her foster-father's lack of interest in her swoop bike hobby had played right into her hands. If he had taken an interest, he would note it was now faster than all of the palace staff speeders; and if he had taken an interest he would have done something about it, but as usual he remained ignorant as did the rest of her personal guards. The plan hinged on her being able to get to out of sight of the guards who would chase her down if she went too far out. Her father believed she had it in her to escape them and get to the ship that should be waiting for her. He had regaled a tale of his youth about how he won his freedom from slavery by winning a podrace, a feat no other human could do.

 _"No one would believe I could do it but I did. Only later did I learn that it was the Force that aided me; it will aid you too in your escape"_ he had said.

Bringing herself back to reality she finished her checks. This was it. No going back. She mounted the bike, turning it on and giving the guards a quick glance. They didn't seem to think she was going to leave, she wished she could have seen the looks on their faces when she hit the accelerator and darted out of the hangar. Shortly after leaving the hangar she could hear the distinctive whine of speeder bikes. Focusing on the moment she pressed on.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins as the wind whipped at her face. This would change her life forever. Racing across the lush green field of the Royal Estate she headed towards the forest edge where the ship would be waiting. Snatching a glance behind her she saw three speeders chasing after her. Gunning the throttle she quickly gained more and more distance from them until they were far specks in the distance. With thrill of the chase over, she concentrated on crossing the wide expanse.

It felt like hours, but in reality it had only been 15 minutes. She had feared the guards would be able to keep pace but by the time she had reached the border of the forest she could barely hear them, let alone see them. The forest loomed in front of her, its soaring trees and dense foliage blotting out much of the light. Slowing down her pace to avoid outcropping rocks and overturned trees, she could take in the surroundings in detail.

She had only been to the forest a handful of times before, each time she had found the silence of it unnerving. There should have been birds singing or animals crying out, but it was all far away; just like the palace guards. It was only the sound of her bike that filled the empty atmosphere of the forest. According to the history she had read, a bloody battle had been fought thousands of years ago and the forest had never truly healed. Drawing her mind back to the present she concentrated on piloting the bike to where her father's agent was waiting.

* * *

He heard it before he saw it. The whine of a swoop bike was a familiar sound, the only sound really in the quiet forest. He supposed this was who he was waiting for, otherwise he would have to dispose of them. Whoever it was finally entered the clearing and started slowing. He was surprised to see how small the rider was, a child perhaps? Setting aside his curiosity he waited for the rider to approach.

The rider came into the clearing, right next to the ship, and dismounted showing the rider to be a young girl dressed in oily, ill fitting overalls. He really hoped this was who he was supposed to be waiting for, otherwise... Putting it to the back of his mind he reached for his blaster, just in case she ran.

"Girl, what's your name? What are you doing here?" He called as he slowly approached her.

"My name is Leia Skywalker, I'm here to get off the planet" she replied.

He stood in shock, _Skywalker_?

"Skywalker? Your father was Anakin Skywalker?" he asked, surprise laced in his voice.

"Yes. I thought you would have known that? He said he was sending one of his loyal agents who knew him before the Empire" she questioned, puzzled herself.

"I served with him during the Clone Wars but he was killed by Darth Vader. It was him who sent me on this mission, I didn't know I was picking up General Skywalker's daughter. I won't betray you to that monster though, don't worry" he vowed, unaware of the lie he had been fed.

Leia's face scrunched up until she realised the stormtrooper had been deceived.

"You are mistaken, my father isn't dead. Darth Vader didn't kill him; he is Darth Vader" she admitted.

"No, that can't be..." he started but as that important fact found its place in his mind, questions were answered that changed his world. It explained why he wanted Leia brought to him, it also explained why the mission was so secret not even the Imperials could find out. He wanted to protect his daughter from the Emperor. But if anything, it opened the floodgate to even more questions.

At first he was going to take her back to Bail Organa and then use the ship to disappear but now with the lie exposed he wanted to know _why?_ Why did Anakin betray the Jedi and the Republic? His curiosity burned so for now he would go along with the mission, if just to get answers.

"Well that makes a lot of sense... Get your bike on the ship, we don't have much time before the guards find you" he cautioned. "Oh and by the way-" he started as he took his helmet off, "The name's Rex. Captain Rex"

"Pleased to meet you Rex, I guess you're a clone then?" she questioned.

"Yeah you'd be right, fought in the Clone Wars alongside your father as his second. It was an honour to serve with him, but now... Well I'll be having a talk with him when we get you to his Palace on Coruscant" he stated.

Digesting the information, she got her bike into the hold of the ship.

"Right let's get out of here. Come up to the cockpit with me. If your bike piloting skills are anything to go by, and you're anything like your father then you're going to be one hell of a starship pilot too" he chuckled.

"Really? I've never been allowed near the cockpit of a ship before, Papa... My foster-father said it wasn't a princess' place to be in the cockpit" she pouted.

"Yeah well your foster-father isn't here anymore. If you're going to call yourself a Skywalker then you're going to need to know how to fly a ship" he stated. "First we need to get out of Alderaanian space, I'll do this part"

Leia sat transfixed watching through the view screen as the ship rose up through the clouds and into the void of space. This was it, she had truly left behind everything she knew. A tear escaped her, she was going to miss Bail even if he did lie to her. Winter, her best friend, she was going to miss Leia and she couldn't even tell her what really happened. They might even think she had died. Drying away her eyes with her sleeve she put those thoughts away, the future was going to be better. She had her real father now, she wouldn't be restricted from doing things anymore. Taking note of her solemn expression Rex decided to speak up.

"Hey, its a big moment changing your life like this. You're going to have to get used to it, you've left the bubble of royalty behind now. The real world is out here, and you're going to have to be strong to face it. You're a Skywalker, I'm sure you'll be just fine" he reassured.

"Thanks Rex... I suppose I'm kind of looking forward to really being with my father" she said, giving him a weak smile.

"There's the Skywalker spirit. You'll be just fine, kid" he chuckled.

With the nav-computer finishing the calculations for hyperspace, Rex let Leia throw the lever propelling the ship into hyperspace and far from Alderaan.

* * *

 **Author's note:** I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I debated on who to bring in to get Leia offworld. I had a choice between three potential candidates but settled on Captain Rex. His history after the Clone Wars is left pretty vague so I'm running with the idea he hadn't retired by the time of my story. It's not really clear how and when a Clone retires, or if Rex simply went AWOL. I also think he will be a good source of interesting interaction between himself and Leia, either way I've got some things in store for the future.

For those who thought it might have been Jix, fret not, he will turn up eventually. I'll let you guess who the other candidate is. All I'll say is it isn't a single person, and they will be turning up at some point.

For now, please review, it means a great deal to have feedback. As always, I'll answer any questions you have at the start of every next chapter.

May the Force be with you all ~ _LT_


	6. Prologue Ch6: New Beginning

_Author's note:_

Lord Cybot - It's not going to be truly a Vader centric story but there will be a great deal of him. I don't have any plans for writing him out of the suit at least to a full human form.

Rookworm - Rex is an interesting character with a lot of interaction already with Anakin, but not really with Vader he still needs to get to know who he is dealing with. Also further down the line, when Leia and Vader take sides against some other characters Rex will be in conflict as to who to support _hint hint_.

Sorry for the long wait, hope you enjoy this chapter that is the end of the prologue (at last!).

Chapter 6 New Beginning

"Hey time to wake up, we're coming out of hyperspace" called Rex.

"What? Already? How long was I asleep?" yawned a groggy Leia.

"You've been asleep for five hours kid, besides I thought you might like to see this" he spoke as he pointed forward. Leia gawped at the sight in front of her. She had only seen images of Imperial Centre, they truly belied the scale and majesty of the city planet. Streams of freighters and transports were flowing in and out of the planet, all guarded by several Imperial Star Destroyers. The _Twilight II_ was just one of many ships swarming in and out of the Imperial Center, the heart of the Empire.

"Yeah, its impressive alright. Should have seen the battle of Coruscant, that was truly a sight to behold" Rex said. "Imagine instead of small freighters, ships as big as these new Imperial Star Destroyers; but instead of the 50 or so here, a few thousand on each side. Took em' months to get rid of the debris" Rex chuckled softly. Leia could barely imagine the scale of the battle. The view became more and more cloudy as they descended into the atmosphere of the planet, until they pierced through the clouds and came into view of the all encompassing cityscape.

"I thought Aldera city was huge, but this... it's everywhere" commented Leia.

As Leia continued to take in the scenery before her, Rex guided the ship to Vader's personal residence on Coruscant. It didn't take them long to be at the hangar to Vader's Palace. The sound of metal groaning indicated they had finally landed.

"We're here, if I'm right he should be here to meet us. He only said to come back to this hangar" Rex said.

Guiding Leia out of the ship and onto the hanger floor the familiar figure of Darth Vader strode up to meet them. Quickly Rex snapped to attention whilst Leia stood awkwardly next to him.

"Captain Rex, you have done well. It is good to see you again daughter" he greeted.

"It's good to see you too father" she replied, striding up to him and embracing him in a hug to which he returned. Not wanting to ruin the moment, or run afoul of Vader's infamous temper, Rex continued to stand at attention albeit slightly awkwardly. It wasn't everyday that you saw the boogeyman of children's nightmares embracing anyone, let alone a child. It was just a father and daughter. His initial thoughts about his former commanding officer were once again thrown into disarray.

"Captain, you may stand at ease" commanded Vader, pulling Rex from his ponderings. Even if he was standing at ease, he was far from feeling at ease.

"I am sure you have some questions; all will be answered. First I must inform you that officially, you are no longer apart of the Imperial military" Vader said bluntly.

"I've been discharged?" Rex questioned.

"No, to all appearances you were killed in the line of duty" he answered.

Rex knew that there was a real chance that Vader might kill him as soon as he handed over his daughter, but he wouldn't have told him that his death had already been declared if his intention was to tie up loose ends. He was meant for another purpose.

"You mean for me to protect Leia" he stated.

"I mean for you to assist in my daughter's training as well as protecting her, Captain" Vader corrected.

Realising that he had no real choice; he would be a loose end if he refused Darth Vader and it would not end well for him, he quickly came to a decision.

"I would be honoured to do so"

"You have made the correct decision, Captain," asserted Vader as he handed Rex a datapad "This datapad has all the information you will need to acquaint yourself with your new role. Come now Leia, I have much to show you"

With that father and daughter left the hanger, trusting Rex to find his own way around the Palace and read over what Vader had given him.

 _The most important mission you will ever undertake..._ Vader's words understated the situation he was now in. It wasn't said explicitly, but he was now charged with training and protecting the third-in-line to the Imperial throne. Or perhaps Leia would choose to bring back democracy and free the galaxy from Imperial oppression. Realising his influence on Leia might change the course of the Galaxy, he felt Vader's words echo again. With a groan, he focused his mind on assimilating the information in the datapad.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Palace, father and daughter walked alongside each other through bleak empty corridors.

"Your Palace is nothing like the Alderaanian Royal Palace, there are no paintings, or statues... or anything really" she commented idly as she looked around her.

"I do not see the need for such trivial things. I have what is necessary and no more than that" he replied.

Leia took that in and remained in silence. She was slowly coming to realise she knew almost nothing about her true father; she had been so caught up in preparing to leave Alderaan that she hadn't stopped to think what life would be really like with him. She didn't doubt his love for her, but she was certainly curious about how he would be as a father. Rex had called him a monster, but was loyal to the point of going against Vader to protect his former General's child.

As they walked alongside each other through the vast hallways in silence Vader took notice of his daughter's despondent mood. Normally he would ignore it and move on, but he couldn't treat her like one of his officers or inquisitors. She was by her very nature an extension of both him and Padmé, and so should be treated as he would himself or Padmé. Not only that, but he had to try to bond with his daughter otherwise she wouldn't trust him.

"Something troubles you, Daughter" he stated as matter of fact.

"It's something Rex said when we were on Alderaan. He called you a monster before he knew who you really were, and that he wouldn't hand me over to you either" she admitted with a frown.

"Rex had great respect for me during the Clone Wars, it is not surprising that he would protect my legacy in the form of you" he responded slowly.

"Is that why he almost changed his mind about bringing me here?" she questioned.

"Yes, that is the most likely answer" Vader replied.

Leia thought for a moment and asked another question, "What would you have done if I wasn't your daughter? What if I was the daughter of a different Jedi?"

Vader was unsure how to answer her question in an appropriate manner. It was a very rare occurrence but every now and then children of Jedi would be discovered, usually in a hunt for Jedi who escaped the purges or left the order prior to the rise of the Empire. Their fate was not a kind one; those that were not killed were brought up and trained as Inquisitors or Emperor's hands. He decided to settle for the harsh truth, the first of many.

"Such is the will of the Emperor, force sensitive children are usually taken to be trained as Inquisitors. Children of Jedi are not so lucky and suffer the same fate as their Jedi parents, if not worse" he said coldly.

"What could be worse than death?" she whispered, startled by his blunt answer.

"Servitude to the Emperor is worse than death," he responded, then as if to himself "I should know more than anyone" he added quietly.

As powerful as her father was in the Empire, he would be forever seen as a pawn to the Emperor. She took his hand as they walked along the corridors in silence, both contemplating what the future would hold. Padmé had refused the opportunity to rule the galaxy with him, to remake it in their image; Leia was more willing to help in his endeavour to change the galaxy to a better place. True change, though, could only take place when Sidious was no more. Vader saw it being a glorious day when both he and his daughter ascended to the Imperial Throne.

Leia was not so sure what the future held, she knew no more than she did when she was still the Princess of Alderaan. Whatever it brought, she would be beside her father when it came.

* * *

"It's just as plain and bland as the rest of the Palace! Is your bedroom like this too?" Leia moaned, dissatisfied at the spartan room she had been given as her new bedroom. It was grey, drab and bare of anything that made a room feel homely.

"As I said, I only have what is necessary. It would be unwise to furnish your room so luxuriously, this is only a temporary measure until something more appropriate can be found" Vader replied.

"I won't be staying in the Palace with you?" she asked.

"Not permanently, no. I can only keep your presence here a secret for so long. However, until I find more suitable accommodations you will remain in the Palace. Until that time, I am afraid there can be no luxuries you once had. It would be... suspicious, if items befitting of a child were seen coming into my Palace" he answered.

Leia balked at the possibility of having to spend such a long time cooped up in the Palace without anything she used to have. She was starting to wonder if the price of going with her father had been too high to pay. No she thought to herself, she couldn't think like that. The risk her father had taken to bring her beside him was higher, she would not abandon him now.

"Your life as a Princess is over. The ways of the Force and that of the Sith demand much time and focus, and I can only afford so much time to be with you to personally train you. I cannot neglect my duties to train you lest you be discovered, as such your training begins today" Vader said.

"Does that mean Rex will be training me as well?" she questioned, remembering her father appointing Rex as her protector and trainer.

"Indeed. I will be training you in the ways of the Force and of the Sith. Rex, however, will be training you in combat and basic military tactics." At that Leia scrunched her face, why would she need to know military tactics? From the look she was giving and the skepticism in the force, Vader already anticipated her response. "It is inevitable you will be in a position of command, as such you will need to know how to command effectively" Vader answered before she even began to question him.

"I understand, I think" Leia said.

"Good. Now, sit" Vader motioned. "I will begin your first lesson in the force..."

* * *

 _Several hours later..._

Rex has been lost in a mix of reading the extensive reading material Vader had given him and planning on how to train a 10 year old to be a lethal warrior when Vader announced his presence.

"Captain Rex, I hope you have found what I have given you satisfactory" Vader stated as more a matter of fact than a question. Settling his jumpy nerves, Rex stood and turned to face his former General.

"Yes, my Lord, I have found it quite enlightening. After reading it I took the liberty of writing up a training regime for Leia, this is what I have so far" Rex answered passing over the datapad to Vader. The moment was bathed in silence, save for Vader's respirator, as he quietly analysed Rex's proposed idea.

"This is acceptable, you will begin her training from tomorrow. Anything you should require in the process of her training will be available to you unless it would draw suspicion from elements in the Empire" Vader responded passing back the datapad.

"Tomorrow? But -"

"You think she should be free to be as a child until she is older?" Vader interrupted. Taking the silence as an answer, he continued, "That would take time which is not a luxury I have. Her childhood is over, it was the moment she chose to leave Alderaan and return with me. She understands that, do you?"

"Yes, my Lord, I understand" Rex conceded, his head down.

"Good. I will inform her of this news at once" he said as he turned to face the door to leave. Just before he left he stopped, and without turning addressed Rex, "You may believe me a monster for what I have done, for what I am doing now. If you knew what the Emperor would do, what he has done, you would not judge me so"

Rex brought his head back up to face Vader who had now turned back around. "With my daughter at my side I have found new purpose, together we will change the Galaxy for the better" Vader declared.

With that Vader left, leaving Rex with a different picture of his former General. Settling at his desk again, he resumed his work fine tuning the training Leia would be undertaking with new resolve. There was no choice to make anymore.

* * *

 _One week later..._

The feeling of the force swirling around her was incredible, like looking at a star. Looking back she didn't know how she missed it before, it was only with guided lessons from her father that finally opened her eyes to the Force. Now she had seen it, she simply could not ignore it. In only one week she had gone from not even knowing the Force was next to her to being able to reach it through meditation, albeit very basic meditation. It had been difficult at first reaching the force, but with her father's teaching she could reach with much greater ease than she had been able to before.

 _"Use your emotions, your passions to meditate. Focus on powerful emotions such as hate, anger and fear. The force resonates much more with these than any other emotion"_

 _"What about love? Is love a powerful emotion? When think about you I can feel it surge through me like the adrenaline when I'm on my bike"_

 _"Yes, love is a powerful emotion. The Jedi were fools to ignore it, but the Sith welcome it. Your passion gives you strength; through strength you gain power; only through power will you achieve victory, and with it your chains are broken the force will set you free. This is the code of the Sith"_

 _"When we stop the Emperor will you be free?"_

 _"Yes, when the Emperor is dead the Force will set me free. We will be both free to come out of the shadows and live as father and daughter"_

Only with learning the Sith code did she realise how far the Emperor had truly betrayed his Apprentice. His suit was a both physical and metaphorical prison that chained him to the will of Sideous. He could not defeat his master with his injuries and constantly relied on Palpatine for his health and the constant maintenance on the suit. It made her angry, she hated the Emperor for what he had done to her father. When she was older, more experienced and more powerful they would tear down what Palpatine had created and remake it in their own image.

Rex's voice broke into her musings however.

"Hey Leia, sorry to interrupt your meditation but we're going to be doing something new today" he stated as he walked into the gym.

"Something that doesn't involve running around I hope? My legs still ache" she moaned as she got to her feet.

"No, not running but you're still going to have to do some of that after" he said as a grin crossed his face at the sight of her sulking. "Running builds stamina, you're going to need plenty of it if you want to do some of the other things I have planned. Today we're going to start some basic hand-to-hand combat" he revealed with a smile.

"But you're bigger than me, this isn't fair!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah well the people out in the Galaxy might be even bigger than me, you're gonna need to know how to use your size to your advantage. Once the basics are nailed down, we can move into using vibroblades as well to give you an edge" Rex replied.

"First we work on your positioning, then we'll start on some moves ok?"

"Yeah sure"

"Good, and remember no using the Force. You won't always be able to use it so you need to know what to do without it" he instructed. "Now you're going to need to change your position depending on what situation you fall into..."

* * *

Sickly yellow eyes perused the Coruscant skyline. Several disturbances in the Force had rippled in the wider Galaxy but he couldn't locate any of them with any detail and it made him seethe in anger. Plots had been made against him and his Empire but he could only speculate from whom and where. For now he was content to let them play out, he was the ultimate power in the Galaxy and there was nothing that could touch him; or so he thought...

* * *

 **Author's note:** And this is it, the prologue is done at last *waves arms around*. Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, some of the dialogue went through a couple of rewrites to get it to sound as natural as I felt I could make it. Now that Leia is reunited with her father and has begun her training things should get moving. I've got some solid ideas for what to do now and where to take it.

Like always, please review it means a great deal even if it's some minor detail or point. Unlike my other chapters that were proof-read by a few friends, this one has only been proof read by me. If there is a mistake or something that seems odd, drop me a PM or put it in a review and I'll see what I can do.

May the Force be with you all ~ _LT_

P.S. Star wars rebels is back, you should totally watch it if you haven't already.


	7. Act 1 Ch1: Of Droids and Men

_Author's note: fixed chapter title from prior chapter (derp)_

Rookworm - You will just have to wait and see where the story goes!

Revan3363 - There is a possibility she will turn up but only if it makes sense for the plot.

Gray Jedi 4000 - At this current point in time, Rex is not part of the Rebellion. He is firmly loyal to Leia, and what is the legacy of Skywalker. I don't want to say much more without spoiling some ideas I have.

Sorry for the long wait. University has started which has absorbed much of my time unfortunately. I hope you enjoy this chapter where we find a new companion.

* * *

Act 1

Chapter 1: Of Droids and Men

 _"Although the Clone Wars were over, some people never seem to get the message. The worst case of denial was Gizor Delso, a Geonosian Separatist who'd somehow escaped Lord Vader's efforts to wipe out the remnants of the CIS. Lord Vader tracked him to Mustafar, and brought us in to finish the job."_

 _Three months later._

Another flash of red radiated through the viewport, much to the vexation of Darth Vader. He wanted to be out there making sure droids of a bygone era stayed in the past, but as it were he needed to be on the bridge of the _Exactor_ to ensure no mistakes were made. The Emperor would see it as a failure if even one rogue Separatist escaped. A flash of green, almost too close for comfort, illuminated his dark figure on the bridge.

"Captain, report" Vader commanded.

"My Lord, we are making progress. One of the two Munificents has sustained critical damage and is falling from orbit, the Providence's shield are down to thirty-seven percent. Our own shields are at sixty-five percent and holding" came the response.

"Good, when the Providence's shields are down direct the pilots to obtain one of the Geonosian's bombers and return it to the _Exactor's_ hanger" Vader ordered.

"My Lord?"

"Are you questioning my orders, Captain Armand?"

"N-no, my Lord" the officer choked out before giving the order to the comms officer.

Satisfied, Vader returned his vision back to the battle rampaging outside. It would not be so long before Delso's fleet was in tatters cutting off any chance of escape. He found it ironic, that Delso and his geonosian followers were still fighting a war that the rest of the Galaxy considered over. There were no separatists to fight for anymore, Vader had seen to it that they were eliminated. Soon, Delso would be a mere footnote in history. Just like the rest of his species who had been wiped out several years earlier. It was to his great disdain that it had brought it him back to a planet he would rather forget existed.

An explosion tore through the forward section of the last munificent, starting a chain reaction which left the ship breaking in half. The sight brought Vader from his ruminations becoming aware of Captain Armand at his side.

"My Lord, we have retrieved the bomber you asked for. The Providence has lost both its escorts and it's shields have failed" he reported.

"Excellent, focus all fire on the engines and reactor compartment. I do not wish to prolong this engagement any longer than necessary"

Vader stood as still as stone as the fleets combined fire poured down on the relic of a different time. The Clone Wars though only ended 11 years ago, still felt like a lifetime away. The Galaxy had changed, he had changed. Once the Emperor was dead, he would once again change the Galaxy into a better place. Something his daughter could inherit rather than the Empire he had helped create. His musing was cut into when the Providence exploded into a cacophony of different shades of red. Vader took a moment to watch the last Providence of the Confederate of Independent Systems slowly burn into nothing, unaware the rest of the officers were similarly watching in silence.

Bringing himself back to, he ordered the fleet to low orbit to prepare for an assault on the droid foundry. An image of the fires of lava rivers flashed before him, but was quickly clamped down on. He would rather stay on the bridge and command from above if not for wanting to making sure the mission was completed properly; he did not want to continue to fight renegade Separatist factions and their hordes of droids. He was sure his men were just as keen as him to bring a final end to Delso and his droids.

* * *

It was scorching hot on the surface where they had landed. Even through his suit he could feel the heat, or perhaps it was being on the planet again that made him feel it. Dismissing the thought he allowed the troops of the 501st push forward ahead of him, something about this planet was unsettling; and it wasn't just because of his history with it. The Force hummed with anticipation, but what of he could not discern beyond it indicating he would find something unexpected.

"My Lord, we've encountered droid resistance as expected. One of the engineering troopers believes the droids here are similar to the ones we fought in the asteroid Separatist base a month ago" reported the stormtrooper sub-commander currently tasked with directing reinforcements to where they needed to be.

"Interesting. Direct a squad of troopers to begin slicing into the network as soon as they have the opportunity. I suspect the droid foundry on this planet is not as decommissioned as reported" Vader replied.

"Thats what he said too. I'll relay the orders now and inform you as soon as we have access"

Pushing the disturbance in the Force to the back of his mind, he lead the newly arrived reinforcements forward into Delso's base. Thanks to the forward troopers, the only things in the corridors were fallen droids of a variety of types. The engineering trooper wasn't wrong about the droids, from the destroyed droids around him they looked as if they had just been finished off on a battlefield during the Clone Wars instead of the worn and rusted variety he had encountered on other rogue separatist stations. His attention moved to the room ahead which had been secured and was currently acting as a forward point. Troopers moved through the different passages out of it the room, occasionally bringing back injured men or rearming with some EMP grenades that had been pulled out of storage for just such an occasion.

What caught his eye were some slicers hunched over a console attempting to crack the system. From their frustration radiating from them he drew the conclusion they hadn't made much progress. Eventually one of them noticed the Dark Lord and slowly approached.

"My Lord, we are trying to get in the system as ordered but this console's connection to the mainframe is sporadic. The power to room keeps failing which is also posing a different problem for the men," he reported as he pointed to the viewports in the room which were flashing blue as lava occasionally hit it, "Commander Torbal has begun pushing forward to the main control room, we will have more success there"

"Then you may cease your attempts at slicing that console, follow me to the control room where your efforts will yield better results" Vader commanded.

Without even checking if they were following him, he marched with purpose to the control room where he knew he would find the answers he sought. The further he marched into the labyrinth of Delso's base, he felt the Force growing stronger in anticipation. He felt sure he would find something down here, but he was still not quite sure what it was. He quickened his stride when the sounds of blaster fire and explosions became louder.

As Vader and the troops following him drew closer, they could see the small firefight that was taking place, blocking his troops advance through the complex. Delso had used B2 super battle droids for the bulk of his ground forces with a few droidekas and B1 battle droids acting as support. Currently they were doing an admirable job of pinning down his troops with barrages of blaster fire. Drawing his lightsaber and igniting it seemed to give the men the morale boost they needed to start pushing forward, but not before he rushed forward of the line they had created to engage the droids.

Unlike sentient beings, droids unfortunately didn't perceive Vader as any bigger threat than a regular stormtrooper. A shortcoming he took full advantage of as he cleaved his way through several super battle droids whilst using the force to push their dismembered bodies at other droids. In one strike he had paved the way for his men to move in and start pushing them out of the corridor they were pinned in. Using the force, he threw droids at each other whilst simply deflecting their blaster fire back at them with his lightsaber.

Ten minutes after reaching the corridor, he had succeeded in defeating the droid line that had tried to block the way forward. Droids simply did not offer him as much of a challenge anymore he mused to himself before pushing aside his thoughts for the mission at hand. He marched forward with his troops as they delved further into the complex, it would not be long before they reached the control room and could end this pathetic display of resistance.

* * *

The outcome was never in doubt. Once the control room had been breached and the droids shutdown, Delso had tried to flee the Dark Lord but it was all for nought. The last of the Geonosians had died when Vader choked him through the force. A most undignified death for a species that could be firmly erased from history for all he cared. What he had never expected was the report from the splicers who had discovered what Delso was up to.

"My Lord, as you suspected, the foundry here had been restarted. However it seems Delso was working on more than producing battle droids. He was working on a new prototype droid I haven't seen the likes of"

"Did he manage to make any of these droids?" questioned Vader.

"I don't believe so, there is nothing to indicate that it got passed the design stage. Interestingly though, according to the Genosian's own personal notes, the prototype droid was based off of a different droid that he called 'the perfect killer machine'. One of the entries confirms that it's in an underground vault below the foundry" answered the officer.

"Interesting. Show me" ordered Vader.

Quickly, the officer lead Vader deeper into the bowels of the foundry which were eerily silent now that it had been shut down. Deactivated droids were strewn among the corridors where they had attempted to reinforce the depleted forces against the 501st. Chains swung over the top from an unseen breeze, the production lines still with half finished droids. It almost reminded Vader of the foundry on Geonosis. Slowly they left the open part of the foundry into a series of narrow corridors, evidently where the droids were being stored. Eventually the officer stopped in front of what seemed more like a door to a room than a vault. Typing in the access code the door opened, revealing a darkened room with a droid firmly held in place to a vertical table.

The automatic lights took time to come on, but once they did it illuminated the droid in question. It was tall, with a rusty red finish to it. It was humanoid looking enough, and to both Vader and the officer it simply looked like a protocol droid.

"His notes must be wrong, it's just a protocol droid" exclaimed the officer.

As he spoke, the droid's photoreceptors started glowing a menacing red. Lifting itself up as much as it could, it seemed to size up both Vader and the officer before speaking.

"Correction: I am an assassination droid, meatbag" it stated plainly, with almost a hint of disgust.

"Interesting. What is your designation and primary function?" asked Vader.

"Statement: I am HK-47, my primary function is to terminate meatbags my master wants dead. Observation: You are a Sith, yes?" the droid replied.

"Yes, I am Darth Vader. How is it you know of the Sith?"

"Statement: If my memory core has remained intact all these years, my maker, Darth Revan, was a Sith"

Vader paused to digest the information the droid was giving him. He had only heard of Revan through his study of old Sith texts, he thought it impossible that this droid was telling him the truth; that he was a 4000 year old Sith assassination droid but the force suggested otherwise. A most fortuitous opportunity had presented itself in the form of HK-47. An asset if used properly could give him an advantage over the Emperor. It was simply too good to pass up.

"Who is your current master?" questioned Vader.

"Statement: I have no current master, the insectoid meatbag attempted to convince me to join it but I will never serve such a low form of being. Commentary: Sith are very well known for their love of destruction and slaughter, it would be tolerable to serve you, Darth Vader" said HK-47. He full well understood what Vader was subtly asking, he supposed even if he did have another master this Vader would more than likely terminate whoever it was.

Using the force to release the bindings, Vader freed the droid. Now there was only the matter of the witness to the entire exchange.

"I accept you into my service, droid, however I am not quite sure of your capabilities. Convince me you are what you say you are" requested Vader, the implication of his words obvious to the droid. It did not take long for the officer to realise that he had become a loose end. Attempting to back away slowly out of the door, his face betrayed the terror he was feeling.

"Statement: I would be glad to convince you, master" said the droid almost giddily. Already, he liked Vader.

"Please, my Lord, have mercy. I won't say anything!" the officer pleaded.

"I have full confidence you will not be saying anything at all" assured Vader.

He tried to turn and run but HK-47 was already upon him. Before he could even scream, HK had taken hold of him and simply snapped his neck. Dropping him back into the vault he was locked in, he walked out with his new master.

"I am convinced. Now as we leave you are not to speak one word. It would be wise not to betray me, you will find it most unfortunate" Vader calmly said.

"Statement: My protocols do not allow me to betray you, Master, no matter how much I may want to" replied HK-47.

"I will personally make sure that you cannot in any event" stated Vader, he was very interested in how the droid had survived for so long and how much information he could give about Revan. The droid would be a veritable source of knowledge on the Sith Order, knowledge that he could use against his own Master.

As they approached the last remaining Sentinel-landing craft on Mustafar, he was approached by Commander Torbal.

"My Lord, all troops have been withdrawn off-world. The slicers have extracted all the information they need" he reported.

"Good work Commander. Inform Captain Armand he may proceed with his orbital bombardment. Ensure this foundry is permanently shutdown" Vader ordered. In truth, he wanted to erase the planet from the galaxy; for now he would settle for the destruction of the foundry.

With his work done, it was time to leave this force-forsaken planet and return back to Coruscant to his daughter. Something he now looked forward to.

* * *

 **Author's note:** And now the entrance of everyone's favorite psychopathic droid. I've not just included him on a whim, he will become quite important as the plot moves on but this is still focused on Leia. Fear not, we will be returning back to Leia next chapter too.

Also, _Catalyst_ came out whilst I was writing this so I had to change a few things to make sense for it. Future chapters will include references back to _Catalyst_ when they become relevant. If you haven't already read it, I highly recommend you do so. It is a good read and sets up Rogue one really well whilst also filling in a lot of blanks about the Death Star project.

As always, please leave a review it helps me out so much by knowing what you guys think. Again, I'm the only person who's proof read the chapter so if there is some odd thing that doesn't quite make sense feel free to drop me a PM and I'll change it.

May the Force be with you all ~ _LT_


End file.
